Waiting on Christmas
by DeathWriter97
Summary: Lin finds himself in Japan during the Christmas season and he learns a few thing along the way. (Set after Lin and Naru return to Japan) Mai x Lin
1. Chapter 1

"He stared into the night, no expectations  
>But in his heart he wanted to believe<br>That somehow someone would be waiting there  
>Upon this Christmas Eve," - Trans-Siberian Orchestra<p>

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><p>Koujo Lin wasn't a man who believed in the 'sentimental value' of things. He didn't think anything of it as he slid his arms into the comfy sweater one of his ex-girlfriends had given him. His mind never once wandered to the day he found her with another man or how she screamed at him for being a detached, anti-social idiot; he probably wouldn't even remember her name if you asked him.<p>

Not that he had so many girlfriends that he couldn't remember - in reality, he had never dated more than once or twice - but he just didn't care. In his mind, she had made her choice and he had only been with her because his mother thought he should 'get out more'.

And by 'get out more' his mother really meant that he should spend less time with the Davis's and their '_Japanese kids'_. The last part would've been said in disdain for Mrs. Lin had been raised to hate the Japanese for what they did to China, her home country, during the war and she raised her kids accordingly. But somehow Koujo had slightly strayed from his parents' teachings and befriended the Davis twins, Noll and Gene.

His alliance with the twins - and their Japanese mentor, Mori Madoka - led to an estranged realitionship with his mother. They're relationship only worsened when he announced he was joining the youngest Davis on a trip to Japan to help search for his deceased older brother.

He _could_ remember the cold look his mother gave him as he told her he was crossing enemy lines. He could still hear her voice as she told him he was no longer welcome in her home. He had left her in silence, without even putting up a fight; he made his choice and so had she.

So, to Japan he went, where he played along with Noll's little business venture even though he felt it was a distraction from their true purpose. It became an even bigger distraction once Mai literally crashed into their lives, bringing Takigawa, Matsuzaki, Father Brown, Hara, and Yasuhara along with her.

It wasn't long before Lin welcomed the distraction. He even warmed up to the Japanese he was taught to hate. The only thing that prevented Lin from getting too close to the group was the guilt from hiding Noll's true idenity - well, that and Lin's anti-social personality.

Their secret eventually came to light once they found Gene's body. The team had peiced together the puzzle and found out that Noll was truely Oliver Davis and not the Kazuya Shibuya he had led them to believe he was. But even if they knew, it didn't matter; the two men were going back to England to bury Gene properly.

Two years had passed, but Lin could still remember the sad faces that saw the men off as they boarded the plane going home. Mai seemed particularly upset with their departure as tears fell relentlessly from her eyes, but she had always been one to let her emotions get the best of her; it was what made her so special.

Lin had figured that he'd forget about her - forget about all of them - with the passing of time, much like he did the sweater girlfriend. But the littlest things would remind him of their time together, like drinking tea or passing a hospital. And if he was on a case, he'd find himself listening for Takigawa and Matsuzaki's bickering or Noll's favorite catchphrase, _"Mai, tea!" _

Being the second least sentimental person he knew (Noll taking the crown as the first), Lin couldn't understand why he wasn't able to get his old co-workers out of his head or why he still cared for them even now. However, that was still easier to understand than why, during the week of Christmas, he was standing in front of a Catholic church - _in Japan_.

If the memories weren't frequent enough in England, they flooded him ever since he touched Japanese soil. This church in particular held a soft spot in Lin's non-sentimental heart. Nearly three years ago Noll and the group had taken a case there. Somehow along the case, a young spirit had mistaken Lin as his father and possessed Mai (which turned messy when Lin yelled at the spirit and 'Mai' ran out into the freezing cold).

But everything worked out in the end; the boy's body was found and he joined his real father in the afterlife. Mai returned to her normal self and the noisy group had a Christmas party while Lin and Noll watched from the sidelines. Remembering the headache from that night - and on _many _other occasions - Lin once again wondered why he had left his safe, quiet existence to return to Japan.

However, he pushed these thoughts aside as he entered the cathedral. The sense of nostalgia was overwheleming as he watched a cluster of children run around the sanctuary. He noticed that most of the kids gravitated towards a small stage in the front of the church, where they seemed to be working on a play of some sort.

In the middle of these rambunctious children stood three figures that were familiar to the Chinese omniyogi. Father Brown was easy to spot, with his golden hair and how he stood a head or two taller than the rest of the adults. Next to him stood Father Tojo, the man who had come to SPR with that case three Christmases ago. The third person, who the most familiar to Lin, was trying to manage the young actors.

She wore a bright smile that seemed to be a permanent fixture on her face - _seemed _being the operative word, as Lin had seen her angry on more than one occasion. Her brunette hair, once kept short, now came a little past her shoulders. Lin knew that she had probably grown it out, not because it was fashionable, but more because she hadn't ever gotten around to dealing with it.

Lin found himself walking towards the brunette before he even gave it much thought. He had nearly reached her when one of the wise men bumped into him, stopping him in his tracks. The young woman turned around to apologize for the child's behavior when she froze. "Hello, Taniyama-san."

"Lin-san!" tears formed in Mai's eyes and Lin's body tensed up. He hadn't meant to make her cry - he never could handle a sad Mai. But these thoughts were stopped short when Mai wrapped her arms around him. "You idiot, I've missed you."

Lin chuckled and returned her embrace, relieved that she was actually happy to see him. "I'm sorry, Taniyama-san. I've really missed you, too." And as strange as it was to him, he had missed her; he just hadn't realized exactly how much so until he looked into her smiling face once more.

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><p><strong>AN: **Here's a little Christmas special. I'm thinking of making it into a two-shot - it just feels unfinished, somehow.

Speaking of unfinished, I'm sorry to those of you who are following Unlocked - I will update it, it'll just be awhile longer. I got a new computer and it doesn't have the word processor that I use for Unlocked, so I have to get that before I can write or edit the story. I'm so, so sorry! I feel terrible for not updating.

Anyways, I hope this makes up for it. Thanks for reading! I really hope you've enjoyed it!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ghost Hunt, not do I own lyrics.


	2. Chapter 2

Lin was never one who felt as if he needed to be surrounded by people. In fact, he usually preferred being left alone for long periods of time. He found it was easier to get things accomplished that way.

But somehow in the last two years, he was beginning to feel as if he spent far too much time alone. Which could explain why he was having a hard time waiting another two hours before he headed for the church to join the others for the childrens' play. Normally, those two hours would've passed by way too quickly, but for some reason the clock seemed to tick painfully slow that day.

He had already spent the day alone in Mai's apartment - since that's where he was to stay for the rest of the week. He had kept himself busy by snooping around the apartment and reading a few books he had found lying about, which were surprisingly written in English. That had kept him occupied for a few hours, but then he started to get anxious.

He wasn't nervous - at least he hadn't been since Mai assured him that the others were going to be 'ecstatic' to see him again. However, he was _excited, _which was a completely new feeling to him (when it came to people, anyways). For instance, he hadn't been too excited when he had gotten a call from Noll at three in the morning.

Granted, it was actually around six in the evening in London and Noll had no idea Lin was in Japan. Actually, he had no idea where Lin had run off to - he only knew that Lin had taken two weeks off of work. He hadn't questioned it earlier, thinking Lin might've decided to try and reconcile with his family during the holiday season.

That is, until he saw the Lin family sans the familiar omniyogi. Then, his curiosity got the better of him and he called Lin to confirm his theory. So, Lin had to explain that he was in Japan. However, he didn't go into the specifics of _exactly _where he was; he refused to tell Noll he was in Mai's guest bed (for reasons he wasn't quite sure of, at the time).

Noll had ended the call rather abruptly, even for him, after Lin's whereabouts were revealed. Lin was slightly bothered by that, but he figured that he'd deal with that when he returned to England. And somehow, he had forgotten all about the conversation when Mai woke him up to eat breakfast.

Then, throughout the course of the day, Noll had sent nearly five work emails. So, Lin figured he was forgiven (and that Noll wasn't getting the proper rest he needed). Lin managed to get through the work in an hour, which left him with only one hour until he headed out to the church.

With a sigh, Lin grabbed his coat and started his journey unable to stand the silence anymore. He figured he could just wait at the church and help out if need be. For once, he was choosing the noise over a few more moments of solitude.

Of course, he wondered what he had been thinking once he arrived and listened to the children running and screaming for several minutes. He was about to turn around and wait outside when a familiar voice called out, "Koujo!"

He looked up to see Noll and Gene's former mentor hurtling towards him with a young Yasuhara hot on her heels. Madoka attacked Lin with a big hug while Yasu stood back with an amused look in his eyes that made Lin extremely uncomfortable. Madoka quickly jumped away from the omniyogi and gave Yasu a sheepish grin.

"Yasuhara-kun, it's a pleasure to see you again. And Madoka, this is where you've been hiding?" Lin gave the pair a knowing smirk. Yasuhara smiled back, his relief becoming apparent even when his nervousness hadn't been. Madoka simply shrugged and grinned.

"Well, you know she couldn't resist this," Yasuhara gestured towards himself and grinned confidently as his girlfriend swatted at him. She rolled her eyes and commented on how he wasn't the _only _reason she came back to Japan, which didn't deflate his ego any.

Lin stood there fighting back a chuckle as the couple quickly fell into their own little bubble, completely oblivious to him standing there. Lin turned to leave again when another familiar voice stopped him. "Lin-san?"

Lin was surprised to see the old team's medium standing before him. She appeared to be attempting to wrestle a young shepard into his costume, but gave up halfway and let him run off while she still held his headress. She somehow seemed older, more mature, to the onmiyogi (which wouldn't take much, considering he used to view her as vain and petty).

Perhaps, the way he perceived her changed due to the fact that she wasn't wearing the kimono he was so used to seeing her in or maybe it was because she was actually helping out and seemed to be enjoying it. Or maybe it was because of the average looking guy that came to inform her that Mai needed her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The guy (who Masako wouldn't have given a second glance two years ago) turned to Lin with a suspicious - and weak - glare. Masako was quick to explain that Lin was an old co-worker. The man, Hideki, relaxed as soon as she said Lin's name and invited him to follow them.

Lin readily joined them, since all he really wanted was to see Mai anyways. When they found her, she was seen holding a tiny infant and chatting excitedly with the infant's parents who Lin immediately recognized as Bou-san and Ayako. He was surprised when they welcomed him warmly and asked him if he wanted to hold their little girl.

Of course he was reluctant to take them up on their offer, but Mai's encouraging smile convinced him. Mai carefully handed the child over and stayed close, just in case Lin needed her to take the baby back. The little girl looked up at the Chinese man and let out a heartwarming giggle, which led to a shared smile between Lin and Mai.

In that moment, something changed in Lin - or maybe something had already changed and he was only then realizing it. Holding that child and staring into Mai's warm eyes, Lin had found his reason for coming to Japan; for feeling lonely the past two years; and his reason for finding every excuse he could to return in the future.

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><p><strong>AN: **I'm sorry that it's a little late. I tried to finish it on time, but I had a lot of family stuff. I hope you guys like it (if you don't, I blame it on exhaustion and rushing to get it done - lol). Also, I apologize for any errors or mistakes; I wrote half of this chapter after midnight...

Thank you for reading! (: Merry Christmas! ^_^

Thanks to all who reviewed! I'm sorry if I didn't respond - I'll try to get to you next time I'm on the computer.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ghost Hunt or any lyrics used.


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